Electric generator.



No. 699,734. Patented May l3, I902.

J. M. WILSON. ELECTRIC GENERATOR.

(Application filed Apr. 27, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheats$hect l.

. I f I I wotou'mu. WASHIN No. 699,734. Patented May l3, I902.

' .1. m. WI LSON.- ELECTRIOGENERATOR.

(Application filed Apv. 27, 1901.) I

2 $heets-8heet 2,

I A i I UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

JAMES M. WILSON, OF BATTLECREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC SPARKING AND ILLUMINATING COMPANY, LIMITED, OF BATTLECREEK,

MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION. V

EL CTRIC "GENERATOR.

EPIEGIFIGATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 699,734, dated May 13,1902. Application filed April 27, 1901. Serial 1210.57,?36. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES M. WILsoN, a citizen of the United States,'residing at Battlecreek, county of Calhoun, and State of Michigan, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Electric Generators, (Case No. 1;) and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'description of the invention, such'as will enable persons skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in electric generators. I

The object of my invention is to produce a simple efficient electric generator adapted to be operated by the motion of a moving vehicle to which it is attached for producing an electric current that maybe used for any purpose, but especially for an electric lamp havco ing a reflector attached to the casing including the said generator and so arranged as to inclose all of the electric connectionsand Wires necessary for the entire apparatus. I,

A further object ofmy invention isvto pro- @5- vide a means for conveying the necessary driving power to the revolving element of the electric machine for producing thenecessary current therefrom; and astill further obj ect of my invention is to provide aspeed gov- 3o ernor whereby the electromotive force of thecurrent produced by the 'magneto-electric generator Will remain constant independent of the speed of the driving power or of the speed at which the vehicleis progressing.

3 5 Another object I have in View is to provide a durable compact self-contained generator. and lamp having a neatappearan'ce and highly desirable as a commercial product.

In-the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my inclosed generator and a parabolic reflectorcase containing the electric'lamp and also thefbracket for supporting the device upon the frame of a bicycle or other vehicle. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a broken-away portion showing the front wheel and fork of a bicycle, with my lamp in position on one of the tines of the said fork. Fig. -t is a front view of the same. Fig. 5 is a transverse section, taken on of the said governor.

the said angle-plates.

lines 5 5 through the center of the armature, of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the speedgovernor attached to the armature of the magneto-electric dynamo. Fig. 7 is a top view Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the governor, showing it in a position at right angles to that which it occupies in Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a section through line 9 9 of Fig. 6.

In all of the views the same letters of reference indicate similar parts.

A represents a bicycle.

ais one of the tines of the fork of the same.

a is the rim of the front bicycle-Wheel.

E is a case containing my magneto-electric generator.

E is the case of the parabola, containing the electric lamp for the same. I

e and 6" represent the magnetic poles of four preferably permanent magnets, respectively placed at equal distances around the armature.

e and e represent angle-plates for holding the ends of the magnets in their respective positions by means of the screw 6 which joins The plate 6 also provides a pole-piece for the respective magnets presented to the face of the armature. The like poles of the adjoining magnets are held to the pole-piece by means of these angular brackets or clamps and so arranged that the magnetic poles through the opposite diameter of the armature are of the same name.

6 and e are bearing-brackets fixed to the pole-pieces e 6 contains a bearing 6 for the shaft 6 and e represents bearings for a 8 "sleeve e A'nut e is screwed onto the threaded lower end of the sleeve e to provide a step-bearing in the bracket e Acheck-nut e is screwed onto the same sleeve and is set firmly against the step-bearing to hold it in position.

6 represents the core of the -armature, which is shown broken away on one side and which is held firmly to the sleeve 6 by means of the collar 6 and e is a flanged collar also 5 fixed to the sleeve e shown in this case to be screwed firmly thereon.

e is an arched yielding bracket-support having its ends fixed to opposite diameters of the said collar and inclosing the governorweights 2 and 6 e is a similarly-shaped spring-support for the governor-weights, having its ends attached to practically opposite diameters of the flanged collar (2 and practically opposite in position to the point where the ends of the arched spring-support e is attached to the said collar. The weights 6 and e are fixed to opposite sides of the latter spring arch-shaped piece a by means of screws 6 e is a threaded nut fixed to the upper central portion of the arch-shaped spring 6 Screw 6 passes freely through the piece 6 and is adapted to enter and be threaded into the nut 6 e is a thimble pressed tightly over the enlarged end of the shaft 6 to the shoulder 6 which is made on the interior of the said thimble.

e is a soft yielding lining of the inner curved portion of the governor-weights e and 6 which has frictional surface contact with the exterior portion of the sleeve e of the shaft 6 The upper part of the inclosed case contains a bracket c, which forms a socket for the reception of the ball 6 This ball has an upper extending threaded extension, which screws into the cylindrical interiorly-threaded extension 6 which depends from the parabola-case 6 A small electric conductor 6 passes through an insulated tube within the center of the ball and upwardly-extending projection 6 the upper end of which forms one of the contacts or terminals of a circuit for the lamp 6 The remaining terminal or contact for the lamp is made with the casing, to which one of the electric wires of the armature is also connected. The conductor 11 is fastened to the side of the upper portion of the case and is adapted to be held in an insulated spring-clip 1), so that the upper portion of the casein which the lamp is contained may be removed without severing the electric connection, except by means of this clip. The wire t is connected to this clip and to the brush 1' 1' is an insulated ring which revolves with the armature and which is connected there with and upon which the brush bears. A brush 2' is adapted to bear upon this insulated ring for the purpose of completing the electric connection between the stationary and moving parts of the system.

The generator and lamp may be supported upon the vehicle by means of the bracket 0, which in that shown is flattened and enlarged at its upper end into a disk 0, the lower extension being square or triangular shaped at 0.

o is a clip by which the device is attached to the bicycle-fork and through the front end of which the extension 0 passes and which may be tightened therein by means of a screw 0 The device maybe tighten ed upon the fork of the bicycle or aconvenient support of other vehicles by means of the thumb-screw 0.

o is a cylindrical lateral extension from the case E, provided with a central internallythreaded boss 0.

A screw 0' passes freely through the center of the disk 0 and into the screw-threaded boss o which is the means by which the device may be swiveled upon the bracket 0.

The helical spring 0 has one end fastened on the inside of the cylindrical extension 0 The other end is fastened to the disk-shaped portion 0 of the bracket 0. The spring is wound to a tension sufficient to swivel 'the dynamo and lamp-casing to one side from a vertical position, so as to bring the friction driving-wheel c, which is fixed to the armature-shaft e into contact with the rim of the bicycle-wheel.

A pin 0 is provided with a knob 0 on its upper end and is held downwardly by means of a surrounding open helical spring 0,which is contained in a spring-case o. This pin is adapted to engage in a hole 0 in the top edge of the disk 0 for the purpose of holding the dynamo and lamp-casing in a vertical position with the driving-wheel e out of contact with the rim of the bicycle-wheel. This pin and spring-case are held in position on a bracket 0 which extends laterally from the dynamo-casing just above the cylindrical extension.

The use and operation of my device are as follows: Normally the device is in a practically vertical position, as shown in the drawings, at which time the pin 0 is engaged with the hole 0 in the top of the disk 0, and it is thereby held in this position against the tension of the spring o This spring tends to swivel the structure to one side of this position and to associate the driving-wheel 6 with the rim of the vehicle-wheel. When it is desirable to produce a light from the lamp 6 the pin 0 is raised. The spring o will swing the structure laterally until the driving-wheel 6 of the armature-shaft e is brought into contact with the rim of the vehicle-wheel. The rotation of the vehiclewheel will cause the armature-shaft to revolve at a relatively high velocity, the shaft c which is rotated by means of the wheel a having frictional contact with some part of the vehicle-wheel, but has no fixed contact with the armature e but revolves freely within the sleeve 6'. It has a frictional contact sufficient to drive the armature through the governor-weights e and 0 which bear upon the enlarged portion of the shaft or thimble 6 which is made fast with the shaft. By means of the regulator or speed-governor the driving torque existing between the shaft and the armature is decreased as the velocity of the shaft is increased, and in this manner the electromotive force of the current or output of the dynamo may be adjusted to a constant value with the greatest nicet y. When the shaft is set into rotative motion, the pressure, and in virtue thereof the frictional resistance, between the governor-weights and the exterior surface of the upper end of the said shaft is at its maximum value. As the velocity of the shaft is increased the governorweights 6 and e tend to fly off tangentially from the shaft, and in so doing the pressure and resulting frictional contact that previously existed between the said shaft and the said weights are reduced. The vertical sides of the arch-shaped support 6 to which the weights 6 and e are attached by means of the screws e, are elastic in their nature and will yield to the impressed centrifugal force due to the velocity of the weights in their effort to leave the shaft, at which time the arch joining the two sides will be drawn downwardly. Another arch-shaped support 6 is provided at its apex with a screw e and threaded nut e elastically supporting the arch of e in an upward position, by means of which the tension with which the said weights will press against the exterior surface of the shaft may be regulated. When the arch of the piece 2 is drawn nearer the arch of the piece e by means of the screw 6 and nut e the tension of the weights is increased, and the frictional resistance existing between the shaft and the armature-sleeve will be sufficient to drive the armature at a higher rotative speed, and the electromotive force produced by the armature will be higher than when this tension is decreased by bringing the two arch-shaped supports farther apart by means of the screw. Supposing it is desired to produce an electric light when the bicycle is moving at very slow speed, the adjustment of the relative position of the supports 6 and 6 may be regulated to accomplish this result, so that the weights will not be so strongly resisted in their effort to leave the shaft. Therefore any excessive speed will not increase the electromotive force of the dynamo, because the torque to drive it will decrease as the speed increases, and therefore the light will burn at a steady intensity. As the speed of the vehicle-wheel increases the centrifugal effect on the weights 6 and e will be increased and the driving torque existing between the said weights and the said shaft will be relatively decreased. Hence the armature will not be rotated at a higher speed than it was rotated initially. By this means the lamp will burn at a constant brilliancy without respect to the speed of the wheel by which the dynamo or magneto is driven. To stop the production of current and the light from burning, all that is necessary is to turn the structure to its former position, in which the drive-wheel e is disengaged from the rim of the vehicle-wheel, and the pin 0 is again restored to the hole 0 in the top of the disk 0 of the bracket 0.

It is of course evident that my device may be applied to the wheel of a carriage or to other vehicles with as much ease and with as great advantage as when applied to the wheel of a bicycle, and it is' also evident that circuits for supplying current for other purposes than for light may be connected to the dynamo and used in connection with the light or may be quite independent of the light.

While I prefer to use permanent steel magnets for supplying the magnetic lines of force for the field, it is quite evident that electromagnets may be substituted in lieu thereof without departing from-the spirit and gist of my invention.

I have found that the elasticyielding pressure produced by the stress of the spring 0 which yieldingly holds the driving-Wheel e in contact with the rim of the vehicle-wheel, is of vast advantage. It is very practical and satisfactory, as it compensates for any irregularity or unevenness in the vehicle wheel or tire.

By connecting the lam p-casing with the dynamo-casing by means of a ball-and-socket joint the former may be moved so as to throw the light in any desired direction without moving the latter, and by reason of this manner of attaching the two parts all electrical connections and contacts are confined to the interior of the casings, and a very neat and presentable device is produced.

It is of course obvious that the field-magnets may be revolved instead of the armature, as illustrated and described, and that the field of force may be produced by electromagnets instead of permanent magnets and that they may be bipolar instead of multipo lar in character. It is also clear that any movingpart of the vehicle which maybe adapted to contribute rotary motion to the revolving element of my generator may be utilized for this purpose without departing from the gist and spirit of my invention. I

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In an electrodynamic generator a sta-' tionary element, a sleeve, an element adapted to be revolved mounted upon said sleeve, a shaft turning freely therein, supports for said shaft, centrifugal weights carried by said sleeve, and springs for pressing said weights into contact with said shaft.

2. In an electrodynamic generator, a sleeve, an armature mounted upon said sleeve, a shaft turning freely therein, supports for the shaft, centrifugal weights having surfaces fitting said shaft, springs for pressing said weights into contact with said shaft, and a means for adjusting said Weights.

3. In an electrodynamic generator, a sleeve, an element adapted to be revolved mounted upon said sleeve, a shaft turning freely therein, supports for the shaft, centrifugal weights having surfaces practically fitting said shaft, a flanged collar fixed to the said sleeve, two oppositely-disposed elastic supports fixed to the flange of said collar and inclosing said weights, upon one of which said weights are IIO supported, and a means at the top Where the two supports cross for varying the tension of the said support.

4-. Thecoinbination with an electrodynaniic generator, of a driving-shaft or rotary part, a clutch carried by the rotary part of said generator, weights forjoining" the two parts and suitable springs for holding the same normally in contact with the said driving-shaft or rotary part, whereby in the operation of the generator, the Weights Will release the clutch when a predetermined speed is reached and prevent the more rapid rotation of the re volving parts.

5. In a Vehicle-lamp the combination of an eleetrodynamic generator, a sleeve, an ele- 

